A Chance Meeting in the ER
by mudbloodandproud1996
Summary: AU Oneshot- When Castle goes a little too far in his 'research' for one of his books, and when Beckett takes a tumble, landing both of them in the ER on a Saturday night, disease may not be the only thing in the air...


"Beckett, Kate?" the nurse called,

"Here!" Kate replied quickly, trying to stand up, grimacing in pain as the bulging bone in her knee forced her back in her seat.

"You're up next. Should be about another 15 minutes. Make sure you have your paperwork all sorted out when we come to admit you", she said, turning back down the hallway.

Kate closed her eyes and sighed. This was not how she had planned for this night to go.

After spending the afternoon with her friends from high school, she had come home and tried to relax, but sleep just wasn't coming. Exercise had always made her feel sleepy so she put on some music, danced around a bit, twisted the wrong way on a slippery rug and…well, now she was spending her Saturday night alone in the ER, waiting for 3 hours so that she could get her knee x-rayed. She was no doctor but she could guess that her kneecap had been at the least, severely dislocated.

"How did it happen?" a young man across from her asked. He had been there almost as long as she had and was holding a tea towel to his head. She looked up and saw that the man was much more handsome than she first realised. He had piercing blue eyes, ruffled hair and a gorgeous, yet also strikingly familiar face.

"Oh this?" she asked, motioning lazily toward her leg, "Well…I'm a cop you see and I was chasing a bad guy and I…fell?"

"Oh ha ha," he said sarcastically, shaking his head at her smiling, "No what really happened?"

"Why would you want to know anyway?"

"I'm a writer," he started sitting up in his chair slightly, "And I'm always curious as to what people's stories are. How did they get to this particular point in life, where are they going, and how people's lives intertwine. That's actually how I got this," he said, motioning to his head. "I was trying to figure out how hard you could press the blade of a knife against your temple before it started to bleed. And, one slip of the finger later and here I am."

"Wow that is pretty dedicated to your work I must say!" Kate said, smiling, and extended her hand out towards him, "I'm Kate by the way"

"Rick" he replied, shaking her hand firmly.

After a few minutes of laughter and talking, Rick turned a little bit more serious.

"So what really did get you here tonight Kate"

"Well, this is going to sound totally embarrassing but I sort of slipped….on a rug…while I was dancing. And now I'm here. Wasting away my Saturday night, sitting in the ER with a possibly dislocated kneecap."

He sighed and looked into her eyes, "Well, I'm really sorry for what it's worth."

"Thanks," she muttered,

"But, I'm not sorry that because of this I got to meet you and spend…13 minutes talking to you." he said, looking at his watch.

"Beckett, Kate?" the same nurse called again.

"Here!" she said, raising her hand, smart enough to know not to stand up this time.

"Here, let me help you," Rick said, standing up and giving her a hand to stand up and walk over to the nurse waiting with a wheelchair by the door, keeping an arm wrapped tight around her shoulder so she could walk a little bit easier.

"Thanks" she muttered, trying not to sound too much in pain.

"So listen I know that we only just met and all but I'd really like to take you out on a date. I've really liked talking to you,"

"Really?" She asked, giving him one of her 'looks'

"Really." he said.

She chewed her lip for a minute, considering her options, "Okay," she said, "I'll let you take me out on a date,"

"Really?!"

"But, I'm not giving you my number."

"What, but that kind of…"

"Look, I have to go and get myself x-rayed, but I work for the NYPD in the city. If you really want to take me on a date, you're going to have to find me."

As the nurse wheeled her down the hallway, she heard Rick shout after her, "Oh Kate, how you underestimate me!"

* * *

A/N: So this was something that I whipped up after seeing a post on Tumblr about AU meetings and I got inspired so here it is! Just a little one shot! Interesting fact about this story, it was influenced by the time that I dislocated my knee (on a bouncy castle, much more embarrassing than dancing), and loosely based on the story of how my parents first met.

If you could take the time to review and let me know how you liked the story and how my writing is that would be super! Have a good night/morning dear readers!

Tumblr: castleismyoneanddone


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